Federal Court Upholds TPS for Venezuelans, Blocking Trump-Era Termination Efforts

A federal appeals court has reaffirmed legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, effectively blocking the Trump administration’s previous attempts to end their temporary protected status (TPS) in the United States. The unanimous decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that maintained TPS for Venezuelans while the legal challenge progressed.

The ruling found that the then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to vacate a prior extension of TPS, asserting that the governing statute enacted by Congress does not permit such an action. Judge Kim Wardlaw, writing for the panel, emphasized that Congress designed the TPS system to be ‘predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics.’

This decision follows a previous finding by US District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco, who in March determined that the Trump administration likely overstepped its authority and was potentially motivated by racial animus in attempting to terminate the protections. While the Supreme Court had previously reversed Judge Chen’s order to freeze terminations, this latest appeals court ruling provides a significant legal barrier.

The exact impact of this latest ruling on all affected Venezuelans remains to be fully clarified. Previously, protections for an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans had expired in April, with another 250,000 set to expire on September 10. Advocates reported that some individuals whose protections lapsed faced job losses, detention, family separation, and even deportation. TPS grants legal immigration status to individuals fleeing countries experiencing civil strife, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.

The Trump administration, through Secretary Noem, had argued that conditions in Venezuela had improved sufficiently and that extending the temporary program was not in the US national interest. However, millions of Venezuelans continue to flee a country plagued by political unrest, hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and a prolonged humanitarian crisis.

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